CHAPTER X
EASTWARD HO!
After all this had come to pass, the Auto Boys found that if they sodesired there was nothing to hinder carrying out in full all that theyhad purposed to do when the original plan of their eastern vacation tourhad been so amply discussed by the snug fire in Dr. Way's library.
"I propose that we go ahead with the old program," said P. Jones, Esq.,as he occasionally dubbed himself. "We've got back our Big Six. She'sall right. Nearly all our luggage and other outfitting stuff is allright. As for gasoline, grub and so on--what's the odds? We're not brokeyet."
"Guess you're right, Jonesy," put in Worth. "For once in your life,you've about stated the case correctly."
"If the luck keeps up, all right." This from Dave, who could not let goall his mental bearings without some pessimistic afterthoughts. "Butwho's to say it will hold out? One thing I rather insist on, Phil, sinceyou make a sort of bluff at being our leader. Let's stick to the guidebook route, whether we go through Albany to Boston or whether weshort-cut through the Catskills and down the Hudson to New York. That'smy opinion."
They argued it out that last night at Griffin, which they were to leavein the morning for the east.
"Somehow I'd like to see New York more'n Boston, I think," remarked Way."It would shorten the time of our vacation, and give us more time forside trips, say to Niagara Falls or, if we went down the Hudson, to WestPoint."
"Geewhillikins! Stop it, Phil!" cried Paul, making a grimace. "I tellyou what, boys! After all our troubles we're going to take in the realcountry from here on. If I don't see the Falls, 'twill be because youvote against the Big Six going there."
"And West Point!" This from MacLester, no longer gloomy-viewed. "I'vewanted to see that place ever so long."
"Tell you what we can do," chimed in Billy, who had been listeningintently. "Let's have a sort of elastic program, a go-as-you-pleaseroute, governed each day by taking a vote as to how we'll go from thenon, subject always to approval of a majority of the voters."
"Will that do?" queried Phil humorously. "There are only four votes.Suppose it's a tie, what then?"
"Aw, Phil!" from the irrepressible Paul. "If it comes to a tie, we'llkeep talking and voting until it's unanimous or three to one. I guesswe've all got some horse sense!"
Without too much stickling for unanimity, it was finally agreed thatwhile the general plan of the eastern trip should remain the same,whenever advisable there would also be discussions of the next movewhich would require at least a three-to-one vote in order to decide.
"We may all be fools some of the time," voiced Dave sagely, paraphrasingLincoln's noteworthy pronouncement, "but we won't all of us be fools allthe time." This while shaking his head dubiously at Jones, Esq., whosniffed scornfully.
Accordingly, the following morning when the Big Six left Griffin itscourse was eastward over the big highway prescribed in the guide book.
Phil, Dave and Paul took turns at the wheel, and when night was againupon them they were nearing a small town where, according to the guidebook, one might turn to the left and before the day was over be fairlywithin an hour or so of Niagara Falls. They put up at a modest hotel,stored the auto in a convenient garage, took supper and, after a shortstroll along an uninteresting main street, retired for the night to alarge bedroom with two double beds.
Some debate ensued as to whether they should turn off and visit the bigfalls, during which Worth dropped off asleep while MacLester nearlyjerked his head loose as he nodded from the depths of an ancientarmchair.
"Aw, what's the use?" grumbled Paul. "_They_ don't care _where_ we go!"He pointed at Billy snug in bed, while Dave nodded the sleeper'sapproval of whatever course might be taken on the morrow. "They don'tcare, I say."
"Well, what do you say, Paul?" Phil regarded the boy quizzically. "Haveyou ever seen the Falls?"
"No, nor I don't care if I _never_ see 'em. Nothing but a roar of waterand a cloud of wet spray if you go near 'em below." Paul's grammar washumorously absurd at times.
"How do you know, if you've never been there?"
"Haven't I read and heard about 'em ever since I was knee high to aduck?"
"Well then, let's vote. You wake Billy up."
While Paul was shaking and struggling with Worth, now angry over beingthus disturbed, Phil gently tweaked Dave's nose until he staggered tohis feet, making half-blind passes at his disturber as he mumbled:
"G'way, you! I--I'll punch your head, you--you--you--" And that was asfar as he ever got.
"We're voting to know if we go to the Falls or keep straight on," urgedPhil loudly. "What is it to be?"
Paul just then relinquishing his clutch on Billy's nightshirt, thelatter flopped back on his pillow, jerked the quilt over his head andwas buried to the outer world. Phil pinched Dave's ear until the noddingone hauled back and struck out feebly, hitting nothing and throwinghimself back into the big chair's embracing arms.
This being the dumb reply of both, Phil grinned at Paul as he halfwhispered:
"What do you vote, Paul? Is it straight on, leaving the Falls foranother time?"
"Bet your life--that's me! Say, Phil, I'll tell you what I'd really liketo do." As he said this Paul drew from his pocket a crumpled, soiled bitof paper. "Here's something I got hold of at Griffin."
"Right here's where we turn off to the right, according to this paper.Got it from Fobes. The Chief said he took it from Coster, who wastearing mad because Fobes got it away from him. Somewhere beyondhere--don't say where--there's a one-horse tavern--old place, prettywell off the main track. But it's mighty nigh one of the main railroadlines."
While Paul was talking Phil was examining the paper, growing moreinterested as he went on. Now he looked up, saying:
"It looks like a queer game. It may be worth a gambling chance."
"Think of the boodle! That express car was looted near there some yearsago. Another tramp was riding the brake beams and saw the robbers makeoff in the nearby woods with their boodle. Papers were full of theamount taken." Paul smacked his lips as if he tasted in anticipationwhat the money would do. "Then this tramp jumped off and followed them.See? It says so here." Paul pointed to a paragraph in the raggedclipping. Phil, having already deciphered this, was reading further.Then he said:
"That tramp was blind in one eye. Do you reckon he could tell and markwhat those robbers did with their boodle?"
"Sure, if he says so. I can see most as well with my hand over one eyeas with my two eyes." Paul in pantomime covered one eye and winked atPhil, who was obliged to laugh. "Well, what does this tramp do? Why, hewaits round in hiding until them galoots go off after burying theirloot. Then he, like a fool, goes off to sleep. When he woke up his goodeye pained him so that he only marked the spot as best he could andstruck for the nearest house, which happened to be this old tavern."
"I see," remarked Phil ruminatively. "From this it appears he got betterand stayed, making himself so useful, choring about, that they kept himon. Of course it was the boodle that kept him at work, doubtless meaningto leave when he got better. Once he sneaked over to this big hemlockand tried to dig for the money, but owing to the great rock they hadpiled over it, and being weak from his sickness, he had to let it go,meaning, of course, to come back when he was strong again. But he didn'tget strong. His other eye became more affected and in time he wentblind. After that the tavern folks sent him to the county almshouse, andthere he finally died."
"Right-o, Phil!" exclaimed Paul, unable longer to keep silence. "Justbefore he pegged out, along came this same Coster's brother, also atramp. Tramp number one wouldn't tell the tavern folks because they puthim in the almshouse; but he did tell tramp number two, Coster'sbrother, just because he was a tramp like himself, I guess. Coster'sbrother belonged somewhere around here and loafed his time away, alwaysintending to visit the spot. But he, too, got sick and before he diedpassed the secret along to Coster. The original thieves never came backbecause they were later arrested for another crime, that of killing
oneof themselves in a row, and the survivor or survivors were sent up forlife or hanged, I reckon. Anyway, they never bothered any one any more."
"But this old printed paper doesn't tell exactly where the boodle washid, except that it was close to a big hemlock and under a big rock."Phil was shaking his head doubtfully. "Where would that hemlock be?There are hemlocks scattered in the woods all around here."
"Here's something that Coster gave me while he was in jail, towards thelast. You see, I'd been sort of kind to him, or he took it that way. Icarried him some tobacco. When he found that he was in for a serioustime, he handed out to me not only this paper but a scrawl he'd made onthe back of an old envelope with a bit of pencil I'd given him some daysbefore. At the time I couldn't make much of what he was up to. But Iguess his bad luck in general was too much for him. After Rack landedhim he seemed to give up. Anyway he gave me both these," meaning theprinted bit of crumpled paper and the old envelope which Paul now passedto Phil.
"Why didn't you tell us before, eh?" asked Phil sharply. "Aren't we allcomrades together?"
"Yep! But I knew you'd laugh at me for being so simple as to believeanything Coster said. But since we've reached this place where we arenow, the thing came back to me so strong that I fished out these papersand looked 'em over again. By jimmineddy! I can't help but think there'ssomething in all this rigmarole after all."
Phil, after some cogitation, gave back the papers to Paul, saying:
"Let's sleep on it, Paul. You can't get anything out of them now. In themorning we will go into it again."
In the early morning Billy, who had some advantage over the rest inpoint of sleep, was up first, and was presently whanging the others withhis pillow in a way that bade little for further slumbers on their part.
"G'way! get out!" cried Paul, feeling less interest just then intreasure hunting than in securing a few more winks before the inevitablebell for breakfast rang forth. "Remember how you acted last night whenwe wanted you to sit up and talk!"
As for Dave, the last to be thus treated by the now wakeful Worth, hegrunted, groaned, finally heaving his own pillow at Billy who, dodgingthe same, renewed his offensive tactics to such effect that MacLesterpresently sprang forth from beside the now dozing Paul and grumblinglyproceeded to dress.
"Dave," began Phil, "I got something to tell you and Billy that I wantyou to listen to until you get the thing firmly inside your thinkers.Then, if you are interested, we'll wake up Paul for good and you canlook at what he's got to show you. He showed it to me last night, afterwe tried to get you two to wake up enough to get the facts fairlythrough your noddles."
"'Things' and 'noddles'!" This from Billy, tossing his much abusedpillow on the bed. "Why don't you get busy and talk sense? What you gotto show us anyhow? As for Paul, he--he's a--"
"He is, is he?" Paul, thus exclaiming, suddenly sat up and dischargedhis own pillow at Billy, but only managed to hit Phil. "I didn't meanyou, Phil. I've been awake for about half a minute, and I know whatyou're up to, Phil. Go for 'em, while I dig up the documents."
While Phil was relating the substance of what Paul told him and what thetwo papers revealed, MacLester sniffed suspiciously and graduallyassumed his customary expression when doubtful opinions were beingaired, apparently for his own benefit. While Phil was talking, Paul hadextracted the crumpled printed scrap, evidently clipped from some longforgotten town weekly, and the mysterious pencillings on the mussedenvelope.
One after the other Dave and Billy examined both the printed clippingand the soiled, misused envelope on which were sundry drawings inpencil. Finally Dave sniffed suspiciously.
"S'pose we _do_ turn off here and do as Paul wants us to? S'pose wespend a day or two enlarging our hotel bill, and don't find anythingafter all? Besides, who would believe anything Coster says?Nobody"--here a skeptical look at P. Jones, Esq., now dressing in somehaste--"nobody, I say, but him." Dave jerked a finger at Paul, who waspulling his shirt on over his head.
"I hear you," came Paul's voice, half smothered as he struggled upthrough the shirt and, his head popping into view, he eyed MacLester indisdain.
"Oh, I don't know!" remarked Worth, nodding at Phil. "What do you thinkof it, boss?" meaning Way.
"I think just what I said to Paul last night. It's a gambling chance.Shall we take it? Is it up to a vote?"
"You bet!" shouted Paul, greatly enthused. "In the first place it willbe lots of fun. No one seems to know anything about this secret place ofhiding or what may possibly be hidden there but us. Do they now?"
"N-no." This from Worth, who was evidently much impressed. "We may befooled, but who shall say that Coster wasn't acting on the square? I sawPaul going out of his way to make Coster a mite more comfortable,especially after he was caught with the goods on him, so to speak. Badas he is, he may have had some notion of doing Paul the only good turnhe alone could do, by putting him wise to this thing. Anyhow, it's funand fun is one thing we're after."
"Well, then," remarked Phil, "shall we put it to a vote?"
"Yep--let's vot'er now, right off the bat." So added Jones, by nowfairly in his trousers and reaching for his footgear. "I vote yes--yes,siree!"
"So do I," said Billy, glancing quizzically at Dave. "Me for treasurehunting! Gee! Wouldn't I like to feel my shovel scrape something hard,and see my hand pull out a wad of bank notes all caked with woods dirt?"
"What do you say, Mac?" Phil was looking at MacLester, who coloredslightly.
"I--I'll vote last. You say what you'll do, Phil."
"Oh, well, if you want my decision, I'll say yes." Phil here grinnedopenly at Paul. "I'm fond of our youngest comrade and I want to pleasehim whether we find anything or not."
All looked at Dave, who at first looked foolish, but straightway an opensmile wreathed his ruddy Scotch face as he said:
"I'm with you, Phil! Paul sometimes acts the fool, but he means well allthe same. Here's for the treasure! If we don't get it, maybe we'll havesome fun out of it after all."